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The Los Angeles Dodgers won the first game of their Wild Card Series against the Cincinnati Reds, letting the entire baseball world know who the defending champions are.
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A dominant 10-5 win on Tuesday night started off with a bang (literally) as superstar Shohei Ohtani demolished the third pitch he saw 117.7 mph off his bat to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. The 100.4 mph offering from Reds right-hander Hunter Greene was no match for the three-time (and soon-to-be four-time) MVP.
The fireworks continued as Teoscar Hernández launched a three-run shot in the bottom of the third inning to increase the lead to four. Utility star Tommy Edman kept the party going with a solo shot of his own later that same inning.
Hernández once again went yard, smashing a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth inning to make the score 6-0.
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Before the sixth inning was over, Ohtani once again hammered a ball deep, this one a two-run home run to further extend the Dodgers lead. This time, the ball travelled 454 feet at 113.5 mph to make the score, 8-0, and to tie a Dodgers franchise record for home runs in a postseason game.
Two-time Cy Young award winner punched out nine over seven innings of work. He allowed just four hits, one walk, and two earned runs on the way to his impressive outing.
During the bottom of the inning, an Alex Call single and a throwing error got Miguel Rojas home to further the lead, and with a Ben Rortvedt RBI single to bring him home, LA entered the eighth inning up 10-2.
Things got dicey in the eighth, as Alex Vesia struggled and the Reds then scored after Edgardo Henriquez walked in a batter with the bases loaded. Then, an RBI single shrunk the lead to 10-4.
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The eighth inning seemed to last forever as star shortstop Elly De La Cruz was also walked with the bases loaded making the score 10-5. However, Jack Dreyer was able to get out of the game, and Blake Treinen pitched a shutdown ninth to close things out.
Photo Credit: The Enquirer/Frank Bowen IV / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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